Ranma: The Apprentice
by NighthawkTM
Summary: Genma is killed at Jusenkyo when a battle between God and Demon interupts the training with Ranma. The Gods continue Ranma's training to make him a Devil Hunter. When he and his friend, Skuld, are caught looking at his file, they are banished to Earth.
1. Chapter 1: Battle at the Springs

Ranma the Apprentice  
  
None of the characters in this fic are owned by me.   
Ranma characters belong to Rumiko Takakashi. Ah! My   
Goddess characters belong to Fujishima Kosuke. All   
other characters to appear in this are owned by their   
respective people. Please don't sue me, I'm not rich.  
  
This is a continuation of Greg Sharp's   
The Bet: Apprentice Option. The idea originally came   
from him and intrigued me. I talked to him about continuing   
the fic, and he said for me to go for it. The first three   
chapters of this are very close to the original Bet version,   
with some added detail and modification from me. If you   
like the story, then I suggest that you read the other Bet   
fics, they're all great. You can find your way to them   
at Greg's homepage, http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/.   
  
E-mail me any C&C at NighthawkTM@yahoo.com. Flames will be   
ignored.  
  
Enjoy the Fic,  
Tomas Megerson  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------  
Chapter 1  
Battle at the Springs  
  
  
The battle had become a ritual, but all rituals had  
a beginning and they had an end.  
  
Every day the two had met and fought over the  
Cursed Springs for weeks now. Every day the two had pulled  
back to lick their wounds and return the next day.  
  
They both knew this was the last such time they  
would do so. Others of their kind had come, to witness, to see  
that if they were going to engage in this fight that they would  
settle it once and for all TODAY.  
  
Asuralle made her peace with the Almighty and  
spread her wings.  
  
Across the Valley of Jusenkyo, Amon snarled, spat  
and spread his wings.  
  
Within the Valley, two martial arts disregarded the  
portly Guide and leapt to the top of bamboo poles.  
----------------------------------------  
"I won't go easy on you," growled the father to his son.  
  
"That's how I want..." Ranma stopped. The hair on the  
back of his neck was rising and his instincts were screaming DANGER!  
  
His father prepared to leap, then cocked his head, getting  
a similar premonition. The feeling was so great that it forced its   
way through Genma's usually weak perceptive skills.  
  
"Oh sirs, very bad you fall in Spring!"  
  
"Pops? What the heck?" Ranma's eyes swept all around.  
"Something's really, really wrong here."  
  
"I feel it too, boy." Genma growled. That chill was as if  
the Master himself was present. No, even worse, though if you'd   
asked Genma a minute ago he would have sworn that the idea of   
something more evil than his old sensei was laughable.  
  
Lightning flared and struck and a battle commenced  
overhead.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL!?!?" Ranma almost fell from the top  
of his pole as Something Wicked this way flew. It was at LEAST   
fourteen feet tall, covered in black greasy-looking fur, bat-like   
wings, spur-like growths rearing back on its head, and reddish eyes   
that briefly met his and said "not only are you a tiny little puking   
worm, when I get done here I'll come back and devour you and you'll   
die in agony over the next century."  
  
Genma met the same gaze and knew that his old Master  
was a perverted sick little b*stard but he was looking at Evil   
right now. He desperately tried to remember those Forbidden   
Techniques, because if that Thing came back he'd need everything   
he had and Genma knew that it still probably wouldn't be enough.  
  
Something else shot past the two and in every way  
the two could perceive, it was the Opposite of what they had just   
seen. It had white, feathery wings and radiated a light of pure   
goodness, one that brought joy to their souls, where the other   
brought fear.  
  
There was a scream of "oh no, not again" and the Guide  
went racing towards his hut. He didn't mind a religious   
experience, so long as it didn't involve personal danger   
or meeting the beings in question.  
  
It's quite one thing to profess a belief in a god or gods,  
quite another when you find out that you may have an appointment   
with said beings for later that same day.  
  
Black fire slammed into a cliff wall, spreading cracks all  
through the surface.  
  
Lightning flared and shot from the ground towards the  
sky.  
  
"RANMA! LOOK OUT!" Genma leapt, his concern for  
his son for once overwhelming his own self-preservation instinct.   
It was his finest moment in a life filled with mistakes. This   
unselfish act brought much forgiveness to the man. Given time to   
think about it, he might not have done it.  
  
Genma took a blast of the same black flame and was dead before   
he had finished falling.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!" His father had been an annoyance,  
a harsh taskmaster, and had thousands of faults. But he was still  
his father, Ranma jumped down to where his father had hit the  
ground, not realizing how close he had just come to turning into  
a panda. He could only stare at the blackened, chard body of his   
father and curse the demon that killed him.  
  
The battle waged above continued to increase in scope.  
Chi blasts met darkness. Hellfire met light. Serpents of black   
energies formed and wrestled with serpentine golden forms.  
  
The large black-furred figure smashed the smaller glowing  
one down towards the ground like a volleyball being spiked.  
  
The feathered one spared a moment. "Mortal, leave this  
place, the pools are dangerous. My opponent more so."  
  
Ranma blinked. That hadn't been Japanese but he'd  
understood it anyway. "No shit." 'As if I couldn't tell by   
the way it killed Oyaji.'  
  
"Don't be talking to my lunch," Amon growled, diving past  
Asuralle to land on Ranma's father.  
  
"HEY!" Ranma leapt away, landing in the waters of a pool  
a moment later.  
  
Amon's claws ripped into the corpse beneath him. He'd  
sensed some tiny amount of power here, and any advantage was   
to be seized in this fight.  
  
In the water Ranma's thoughts ripped toward revenge. His   
legs wrapped around a thick throat and began squeezing, while   
his hands came up and popped the demon's ears, reasoning correctly   
that the creature's thick fur would tend to blunt more typical blows.  
  
Ranma was ripped free of the pool and thrown the length of the  
valley. He had a chance to look up and see the massive fireball  
heading his way and prepared to join his father in death. He put   
his arms up to block the blast knowing it was for not. It was   
then that an object dropped in front of the flaming projectile   
and blocked it.  
  
The angel dropped to the ground and wasn't moving.  
Ranma looked from the downed angel to the limping ,approaching,   
demon, and gathered himself. He'd die doing it, but he could at   
least get a couple of good hits in. He would make the demon pay   
for the pain it had caused him. He only wished, for the first   
time in his life, that there was a cat around so he could use   
the Neko-Ken on it.  
  
Asuralle waited until Amon was closer then formed  
her sword the last time and thrust it home, even as a clawed  
hand slashed deep into her chest.  
  
The demon seemed to smile briefly, then collapsed. The angel   
looked up at Ranma. "Told you to stay away from  
the pools." Blood trailing from her mouth, she tried to smile.  
"Could be worse. Sorry about your father, but he's made up for  
a lot by saving you... Tell Bell..."  
  
Ranma looked at the corpse he was kneeling at, watching it dissolve,   
glancing up to see the demon likewise dissolving. Where the angel   
seemed to convert to glowing dust motes that whisked away on the   
breeze, the demon was simply turning an opaque black and collapsing   
in on itself. At the loss of the angle Ranma felt a profound sadness   
wash over him.  
  
"Well, that's it." A man faded into existence nearby.  
"Those two just HAD to keep going at it."  
  
"What?" Looking up Ranma saw a man who radiated a light like the   
angle who had saved his life.  
  
The man brushed his hair back away from his  
face and regarded Ranma. "Well, you're involved now. Might as well   
take care of Asuralle's last request."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma was confused about the involved part. Wasn't he just a   
bystander?  
  
"Though I'll have to warn a few people off, or did  
you realize that the pool you jumped in had turned you into a  
girl?"  
  
"WHAT?!?" Ranma looked down and realized that  
she had WAY too many things on her mind at the moment to  
not notice that.  
  
"C'mon, we'll get you that training."  
  
"Training?" Ranma repeated, his mind having gone  
into overload.  
  
"Yeah, you were on a training mission right? C'mon,  
we can at least get you dry clothes. Between me and Belldandy,  
we'll get you trained, don't worry about THAT."  
--------------------------------------------------  
It had taken a couple of years, but Ranma finally had  
Yggdrasil access. He owed Skuld a favor for getting it for him.   
The young Norn goddess had become a good friend. She had introduced   
him to the wonders of ice cream and was someone he could talk to.   
He had also become close to her sister Belldandy. She had become an   
older sister to him. She helped teach him manners and to control his   
loose tong. She had also helped him gain control of his macho attitude.   
The last Norn, Urd, made him very nervous. While she had helped him more   
than once and became a friend, he caught a look in her eyes every now   
and then like a predator looking at prey.   
  
Looking at the terminal he started to check his own file.  
  
"Let's see. I was SUPPOSED to go to some Amazon  
Village, defeat their champion, run away, get engaged to some  
girl named Akane in some mutually abusive relationship that  
dragged on for two years, meet some girl named Kodachi who'd  
fall into an obsessive disorder centered on me, meet my...  
Ucchan's a GIRL?! How many fiancées?" Ranma blinked over  
at his friend of the past year. "Did you read this?"  
  
Skuld nodded. "All of this was kinda invalidated  
the moment that fight broke out while you were at the Springs.  
Yeah, makes for interesting reading, especially when you  
consider the various alternate timelines. I kinda prefer this  
one over here where you marry one of the Sailor Senshi."  
  
"But this was my timeline, and then it split off."  
Ranma continued to read the file. "Oh man, how could I be  
stupid enough to do THAT?! Geez."  
  
"Hurry up, will ya? You know this is strictly  
forbidden. Who knows what your sensei would do to you  
if he found you like that." Reading your own files was really  
discouraged.  
  
"Hey, compared to my old man, Tyr ain't nearly  
so bad. Oh no, I do WHAT?! And then this Happosai guy  
drinks the water? And after all that we get a messy divorce  
in two years and never speak to each other except in the  
settlement. Oh man, I screw up everybody's life, don't I?"  
Ranma finished scanning the stack. "So..."  
  
"So when you go back to the mortal plane in  
a couple of days..."  
  
"Hey, they ain't gonna do any of that memory  
sealing crap, are they?"  
  
"I don't kn..." Skuld vanished in mid-word.  
  
"Uh oh." Ranma managed before he also  
vanished.  
  
The terminal shut itself off.  
-------------------------------------------------------  
End Chapter 1  



	2. Chapter 2: Trying to be Better

Ranma the Apprentice  
  
None of the characters in this fic are owned by me. Ranma characters  
belong to Rumiko Takakashi. Ah! My Goddess characters belong to   
Fujishima Kosuke. All other characters to appear in this are owned   
by their respective people. Please don't sue me, I'm not rich.  
  
E-mail me any C&C at NighthawkTM@yahoo.com. Flames will be ignored.  
  
Chapter 2  
Trying to be Better  
  
  
"This sucks," said Earth Trainee Ranma, looking over the   
tournament, still sore about the demotion from Devil Hunter   
Trainee.  
  
"You're telling me?" Earth Trainee Skuld frowned.  
The technology here was strictly 1800s as far as she could  
tell at first glance. Most of it wasn't even that advanced.  
  
"Might as well get it over with." Ranma walked up  
to the girl who was just having a hand raised by the judge.  
"Pardon me, is your name Shampoo?"  
  
The girl blinked. "Who are you, outsider, who  
knows of me? Have you come to congratulate me on my  
victory?"  
  
"Yes. I have heard of your great skill and wanted  
to congratulate you on winning this tournament." Ranma  
smiled at the girl, nodding and adding a small box of rare herbs  
to the prize table before leaving without another word.  
  
Cologne watched the two strangers leaving, noting their  
auras and speculating. "That was certainly odd. I wonder..." She  
became invisible as far as anyone could tell, masking her presence   
completely and following the two who glowed to her senses as if   
they were bonfires of chi.  
  
"Well," Ranma said as they got out of sight of the  
challenge area. "We saw her and managed to avoid ruining HER life.   
So she goes on as the village Champion and avoids any problems, right?"  
  
"Until the Musk and Phoenix Mountain, yeah." Skuld  
nodded.  
  
"Oh? What happens then?" Ranma smiled, thinking  
about all the problems he'd avoided and feeling the pride of a job   
well done. Wasn't there something at the end of that story he'd   
read regarding the destruction of Jusenkyo? That wasn't a big deal...  
  
"She dies. The Amazons are either enslaved or killed  
off, and the whole Chinese Amazon thing joins the Greek variety as a   
legend." Skuld hadn't wanted to say this, but Ranma HAD asked. There   
were times that the "can't tell a lie" thing chafed.  
  
Ranma stopped. "What?!"  
  
"Um, well," Skuld flinched. "See the Musk Dynasty is  
kinda their ancient rival/enemy and Phoenix Mountain gets this  
really bratty kid named Saffron who decides to destroy Jusenkyo then   
eliminate the locals. The Musk figure this out and 'cause they're sorta   
dependent on one of the springs, they try a last ditch attempt to   
destroy the amazons and recover some of their magical artifacts. The   
amazons eventually destroy the Musk, but then when Saffron gets into   
his full power he gives the surviving amazons the choice of servitude or   
death. Then he kinda creates a volcano in the village."  
  
Ranma turned his gaze to the heavens. "Please, can't I  
have a solution that doesn't involve me ruining Shampoo's life? She   
could be village Champion instead of pursuing me around for the next   
two years."  
  
"Well," Skuld said seriously. "You can't kill Saffron. He's  
immortal and he's essentially the head of his people. You can't destroy   
Jusendo, cause that'd cause even worse problems."  
  
"How about if I come back during this guy's rise to power  
with some allies, THEN kick his butt."  
  
"That might work," Skuld allowed then smiled. Yeah, he  
could get some high powered help, save the amazons, and he didn't   
have to get engaged to at least one of 'em. "That's an idea. You've   
made a number of friends who would be glad to help save the Amazons."  
  
Cologne listened a little longer, then headed back to her  
village. She'd have to do some research, but if the little girl was   
an oracle, then the safety of the amazons was at stake.  
  
And if the safety of amazons was at stake, then even  
putting her great granddaughter through two years of hell was worth   
the sacrifice.  
-----------------------------------------  
"Hey Skuld, how does this sound?  
  
"Dear Ucchan, I have just learned of two things that  
you have known for years. First, that my little buddy Ucchan  
isn't a boy. Second, that my father stole your dowry. My father  
is beyond your vengeance. I, on the other hand, will try to find  
a way to make reparations. I cannot replace the years spent in  
pursuit of vengeance, nor can I produce the yattai.  
  
"I will find some way of making it up to you as best  
as I can. I expect to have a permanent address soon in Nerima,  
and will be able to find a way to pull in some income at that point.   
I will contact you again as soon as I have resolved the next debt that   
my father has left me.  
  
"Please forgive me. You deserve so much better in your  
life than to waste it in pursuit of vengeance. Ranma Saotome."  
  
"Not too bad. You KNOW she'll come to Nerima and  
hunt you down."  
  
"Yeah, but we can at least get it over with sooner that  
way." Ranma paused. "I'm sending off similar letters to Mister  
Daikokuji, Mister Natsume, and Mister Kino. Oh yeah, and that  
postcard to Mister Tendo." Like the manga, he'd only had time  
to skim the relevant files.  
  
Skuld came over to the table and started reading.  
"Hmmm. Simple and to the point. You're giving 'em a couple  
of days warning, I see."  
  
"Yup," Ranma held up a sticker he'd gotten from  
a photo booth. "Even sending a picture of myself so that  
they know what their father's trying to get them into."  
  
"Good." Skuld smiled. "Hey, we'll get through  
this yet."  
----------------------------------------  
"ENGAGED!?" Akane glared at her father.  
  
"Can I see that postcard?" Nabiki noted that the  
scene was completely unfamiliar to her. A gruff looking  
individual with a halberd standing in front of a rainbow so  
clear that it looked almost solid.  
  
"Hmmm," Nabiki hmmed. "Dear Mister Tendo,  
Greetings. My name is Ranma Saotome and I recently  
learned of the honor agreement between our two families.  
As this is a matter of honor, I am coming there to meet  
with you regarding of this. I do hope that you will keep  
an open mind about this whole thing as it appears my  
late father had made other arrangements as well. I am  
bringing a friend with me who has been temporarily exiled  
from her own people that I met on my training journey."  
  
Nabiki looked over the two-view photosticker  
that was on the postcard. "Hey, he looks kinda cute."  
  
"Let me see, Nabiki." Kasumi looked over the  
photo. "My, he doesn't look that young does he?"  
  
"He definitely works out, look at those pecs."  
Nabiki grinned.  
  
"I hate boys." Akane mentioned, just in case  
anyone was listening. Still, her gaze DID linger a bit on  
the photo. He DID look like he was in fair shape.  
  
"Oh, Nabiki, you really shouldn't be..." Kasumi  
looked over the standing and close-up photos and tried to  
make out the details from the tiny shot. "Uhmmm. You  
shouldn't be looking at things like that..."  
  
"Wipe your chin, big sister," Nabiki teased. "This  
guy is ready to be inducted to the National Hunkdom League.  
I'd guess he's about eighteen, works out on a regular basis.  
Daddy- you said that his father had been training him in the  
martial arts all his life?"  
  
At her father's nod, Nabiki continued. "Those  
clothes are a bit odd but look really well made. So he's  
well-traveled, able to make odd bucks while on the road,  
guy quite obviously ain't starving. His handwriting is  
very precise, and he don't sound boring at all. Therefore,  
I will sacrifice so much of my freedom by being the one  
to get engaged to Hunkma, I mean Ranma."  
  
"Better you than me," said Akane, eyeing  
the photo and not sounding nearly as certain as she  
had earlier.  
  
Kasumi frowned slightly. "Nabiki, don't you  
think we ought to meet him first? And what of this friend  
he's bringing with him?"  
  
"We'll just have to see about that," Soun  
Tendo said, an ominous tone creeping into his voice.  
-------------------------------------------  
Kasumi stopped sweeping as her sisters came  
into the house. "Nabiki, who's that young man standing by the  
gate?"  
  
"Hmmm? Oh, Kuno-baby?" Nabiki shrugged and  
let Akane go past her and into the house. "Well...today he  
paid me for information about why his 'dear Akane' was so  
overwrought today. He got up to 500yen before I started  
giving him details."  
  
"Oh, I suppose that I can go grocery shopping  
later, then."  
  
Nabiki nodded. "Anyway, so eventually we got  
to the heart of the matter. The Tendos and the Saotomes and  
their deal to unite the two families. Well, Kuno goes absolutely  
frothing-at-the-mouth berserk. He's SO sure that this guy is  
going to come and choose Akane and that she'll be forced to  
go off and marry. Forsaking her true love. Him."  
  
"Oh. Then we ought to warn Ranma not to choose  
Akane."  
  
"Akane doesn't love Kuno. She can't really stand  
the guy. Anyway, Kuno's there to stand guard over 'his Akane'  
until such time as Saotome shows up. Then, of course, Kuno  
plans on defeating the fiend that seeks Akane's hand."  
  
"Oh dear."  
  
"Anyway, Kuno didn't buy what time Ranma would  
show up, so he's gonna be there all night and all day tomorrow.  
I figure he'll be dead on his feet when Ranma does arrive."  
  
"Oh." Kasumi resumed sweeping.  
  
Nabiki glanced back at the waiting Kuno, up at the  
heavens, and went inside. Tomorrow showed every sign of being a   
LONG day.  
-----------------------------------------  
There had been a time when Ranma would have disdained  
using a weapon in combat. He felt that someone who relied on weapons   
was weak because if you took the weapon away they were helpless.  
  
Then his sensei, a guy named Tyr Grimjaws, had told him  
about goblin spiders and about the Midgard Serpent, and about a lot of   
other noxious things. Things that you wanted as far away from your flesh   
as you could possibly get.  
  
So Ranma had learned weapons. Not for every fight, to be  
sure. Tyr had taught him the longsword and the warhammer. Susano, the   
katana and the wakizashi- the daisho of the samurai. He'd already known   
how to use the staff and the horse-spear, nunchakus and sai. In female   
form she'd learned the spearwork of the valkyrie, the bow from some   
humorless girl named Artemis, and the halberd and yari from some guy named   
Hachiman.  
  
This brought Ranma to his "greeting the morning" kata.  
Today was an exercise using a weapon he still hadn't quite mastered,   
the kusari-gama. Not an elegant or a silent weapon, that much was sure.   
Not that he couldn't do the basics, but if he got caught by a dozen   
swordsmen in a bamboo grove he'd drop the weapon and fall back on dodging.  
  
"Aw c'mon, Ranma, it ain't even dawn yet," grumbled  
Skuld from their room. "Can't you practice the sword or your unarmed   
stuff today?"  
  
"That's what you say every time, Skuld." Ranma relented though, and began   
going into exercises that were silent.  
  
"You could've at least used your manriki-gusari. That only makes noise   
when you want it to," Skuld stopped speaking in order to produce a long and   
drawn-out yawn.  
  
"It's an enchanted weapon. Too easy to get dependent  
on those." Ranma frowned as he realized he was quoting his teacher.   
"Then somebody slaps you with a 'Neutralize Magic' and it throws you   
off."  
  
Skuld grumbled a little, preparing to go back to her futon,  
when something crossed her mind. "Hey, today's the day, ain't it?"  
  
"Yes, Skuld. Today we meet the Tendos." Ranma began  
to blur as he used a pattern of moves he'd learned from Raideen.  
Too bad he couldn't do the lightning stuff, that had been cool. Well, at   
least not yet. He wasn't completely willing to admit defeat on those special   
maneuvers.  
  
"Oh man. 'Yes, Skuld, today we meet the Tendos.' C'mon,  
Ranma! I mean, you've got this whole fiancée thing coming down on your head   
now, don't you go bottling it up like ol' Grimjaws."  
  
Ranma swept through the set of strikes and moves that  
Raideen had shown him, shifting into a set of maneuvers that he'd studied   
while sparring with Susano.  
  
"At least tell me which one you like the most. C'mon,  
remember, I'm the goddess of the future and I can absolutely say with   
confidence that not all of them turn out as badly as some of them do."   
Why did she feel so nervous about his answer?  
  
Ranma sighed and dropped from his stance. "Skuld, why don't YOU tell   
ME something. Why aren't you unhappy with this? I mean, I got you kicked   
outta Heaven for cryin' out loud. Not many who could do that."  
  
"It's only temporary." Skuld looked wistful. "Besides,  
that remark about my big sister proved to be dead on. Never told you about   
that did I? You said it looked like my sister was gonna go visit her boyfriend.   
Never woulda occurred to me if you hadn't said something."  
  
"Well, it was kinda obvious. Eros had said something  
to me about some kid named Usagi, and I noticed your sister had the same   
look in her eyes as the girl that Eros was watching." Ranma sighed and   
started doing situps.  
  
"Yeah, well, Belldandy has been monitoring a mortal  
for years. When I found out about it, I checked the records. She's   
been watching this guy since they were kids!" Skuld pouted. "He's   
not good enough for MY sister. Not nearly enough. But she's gonna   
grant his wish, and she's already put in for consideration to have   
HER wish- which will modify his wish so she gets to be his girlfriend."  
  
"Sounds like it wouldn't be too difficult."  
  
"Yeah, but it plays awfully close to some rules. Makes me  
nervous that Belle is gonna do it. Urd I can picture doing something   
like that, but Belldandy?" Skuld sighed. "Anyway the prediction program   
I ran said there was a 97% chance they'd end up living here in this   
mortal city. So, I'm away from my sister, but when she comes down I'll   
be here already."  
  
"So who's covering the Yggdrasil duties? Urd?"  
  
"Nah, you made some friends over in the Greek quarter.  
Clotho and Lachesis will take turns and you know how Hephaestus was   
when you talked it over with Urd about letting him learn the systems   
so she could go meet with Bacchus."  
  
"Ah," Ranma finished a set of sit-ups and went on to  
start one-handed pushups. "Skuld? You've got a prediction  
program?"  
  
"Yeah?" Skuld sat back and wondered when that  
Keiichi guy would make his wish.  
  
"Who would I make the happiest? Who needs me  
the most? Who SHOULD I marry?" After all, Ranma reasoned, if he DID   
marry then that would cancel out the remaining engagements and he   
wouldn't be stringing along all these girls.  
  
"Hmmm?" Skuld considered and whipped her notebook  
computer out. "Letsee. If I hook it into a subetheric modem link and   
access Yggdrasil.com, and run a minimalist query it should give me   
some quick results." Skuld secret technique: sonicspeed typing.  
  
"Ah-hah!" Skuld exclaimed. "I am such a...genius?"  
  
"What you get?" Ranma stopped his pushups and  
started getting up.  
  
Skuld snapped the notebook shut. "Still have to work  
out some parameters. Probably need to get a full workup instead of   
just addressing the online data from Yggdrasil. I'll work on it   
when I get a chance."  
  
"Oh," Ranma returned to the exercises.  
  
Skuld sighed in relief, then cracked open her notebook  
to look at the results again. This couldn't be right.  
  
Could it?  



	3. Chapter 3: Here's Ranma

Ranma the Apprentice  
  
None of the characters in this fic are owned by me.   
Ranma characters belong to Rumiko Takakashi. Ah! My   
Goddess characters belong to Fujishima Kosuke. All   
other characters to appear in this are owned by their   
respective people. Please don't sue me, I'm not rich.  
  
E-mail me any C&C at NighthawkTM@yahoo.com. Flames will   
be ignored.  
  
  
Chapter 3  
Here's Ranma  
  
  
Ryouga Hibiki stood on the cliff's edge, looking  
out into the strange valley. He pondered the meaning of all  
the little pools, of the bamboo poles sticking out of them.  
  
It was at that point that the cliff under him crumbled to   
dust and he dropped into the waiting pool below him.  
  
He didn't know that the cliff had been weakened  
by a demon's assault. He didn't know that Ranma had  
been gone from this place for two years subjectively and  
fifteen minutes chronologically.  
  
All he knew, in his heart of hearts, was that  
Ranma was responsible for this. Right before he hit the water   
he let loose a cry, "RANMA, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Then he   
hit.  
----------------------------------------------  
The first man to walk up had been a  
postal carrier. Kuno saw through his disguise and  
ran him off.  
  
The second man to walk up to his beloved's  
home had been also cleverly disguised, but Kuno knew  
that the evil Saotome would likely come in disguise in  
order to hide from his greatness. He fled before the  
might of the Blue Thunder, taking his delivery of rice  
with him.  
  
Kuno saw the third man wandering by and  
immediately drew his bokken and demanded to know  
why he was here in front of the Tendo household. They  
did say that the third time was the charm, did they not?  
  
Kuno noted the man's panicked look  
and had drawn the immediate conclusion. He had  
posed, informed the man that the virtuous and  
beautiful flower within that house was to be his  
bride, and had attacked.  
  
The man's glasses had fogged up, he had  
mumbled something that started with a Ka... and now  
Kuno knew what a Rubik's cube felt like.  
  
The fourth such man was walking up with  
a girl, and the great Tatewaki Kuno was a little cautious  
after that last encounter. Not much, but a little.  
  
"HOLD!" Kuno posed again, a little  
unsteadily. "Who are you to approach the Tendo  
household?"  
  
"Uhm. Ranma Saotome. And this is my  
friend Skuld. And you are?"  
  
"At last," the kendoist trembled, not  
sure if his knees would give out or not. "KNOW  
YE THIS THEN, AKANE TENDO IS MY FUTURE  
BRIDE."  
  
"Okay. You don't need to shout, y'know.  
Oh, uh, congratulations. Hope you two have lots of  
future happiness and all. Oh, can I have an invitation   
to the wedding? I always wanted to go to one." He had   
ever since Urd told him how it is supposed to form a   
deep bond and it intrigued him. What better way to get   
to know how to behave in such a formal situation.  
  
Kuno blinked. He considered rushing  
forward and attacking but he'd just gotten done  
trying to reset his joints and wasn't sure they'd stay  
there. "Do you concede then before my superior  
skills and noble lineage?"  
  
"Sure. Say, if you're a swordmaster,  
maybe you n' me could have a match sometime.  
I recently learned some moves that I'm having a little  
trouble with. I could use any help you'd give me."  
  
Kuno blinked again. His skill was being  
recognized and deferred to? His superior claim to  
the beauteous Akane was acknowledged? Either this  
Saotome was a coward or he recognized that Kuno  
was his superior. "Ah. Well. Good then." He'd have  
to think about this.  
  
"Yeah, not tonight though. I gotta  
meet with the Tendos and see if there's a way  
I can avoid an engagement to one of his other  
daughters. Have a nice night."  
  
Kuno blinked again. He thought he  
heard a noise. Yes, it was his bed calling him.  
How could he deny his bedchambers the noble  
presence of their master for a second night?  
"So be it then. Have a pleasant night. I think I  
must be going myself."  
  
Skuld watched the kendoist stagger  
off. "That guy is kinda scary."  
  
"Nah, I figure he's just like that  
minor goddess over in section G, Tiana. Probably this  
Akane was nice to him once when he was really down  
and he immediately fixated on her."  
  
"So we just go in?"  
  
Ranma knocked. "Nah, I figure..."  
  
The door opened. Ranma and Skuld both  
blinked. There was something Belldandy-like about  
the girl standing there. "Hello?" The voice was also  
perfectly Belldandy.  
  
"Sorry miss, you just remind me of Skuld's  
sister." Ranma bowed and apologized for the moment  
of staring.  
  
"Wow," was Skuld's comment as she was still  
staring. She'd have to do some readings, but she might have  
found her sister's mortal analogue.  
  
"I'm Ranma Saotome, and this is my friend  
Skuld. Pleased to meet ya."  
  
"Oh, won't you come in?" Kasumi gestured  
towards the inside of the house. "I am Kasumi Tendo."  
  
Another girl popped out. "He's here?! Hi, I'm  
Nabiki Tendo. Come on in, we're all (well, almost all)  
anxious to meet you."  
----------------------------------------  
Nabiki looked around the table, edged a little  
closer to Ranma and looked attentive.  
  
Kasumi wondered if the formal tea set should  
be brought out now, or would it be better if she waited on  
such details. Certainly this Ranma was better than she  
would have expected.  
  
"So." Soun Tendo inhaled a massive drag on  
his cigarette, snorting an impressive cloud of smoke a  
moment later. "Which of my daughters are you going to  
marry?"  
  
"Are you absolutely sure there should be one?  
I mean, my dad apparently made a few of these arrangements.  
I sure as heck don't wanna force nobody into nothing."  
  
"You better not choose me," Akane grumbled,  
though she was glad to see this guy wasn't too keen on the  
marriage thing either. She'd had a couple of days to calm  
down, and so found a degree of tactfulness. Besides,  
there was no reason to rain on Nabiki's parade. "I detest  
this concept of a forced marriage. Nothing personal."  
  
"Uhm, you're Akane, right? It's OK, I already  
met your fiancée and he explained everything." Ranma  
shrugged and smiled.  
  
Akane blinked, then leveled a cold glare at  
her father. "Dad? Have you made OTHER arrangements  
specifically involving me?"  
  
Soun shook his head frantically.  
  
"He said his name was Tatewaki Kuno..." Skuld  
offered, only to be met with a series of moans.  
  
"I haven't given him permission," Soun said slowly.  
Well, Akane COULD do worse. "Well, I suppose..."  
  
"DAD!!!!" Akane panicked. Sometimes her father  
got a hold of an idea and just wouldn't let go.  
  
"Well, that leaves me and Kasumi."  
  
"NABIKI!!!" Kasumi gently chiding, Akane staring  
in increased alarm.  
  
"Mister Tendo, do you even think this is fair to  
your daughters? They don't know me, after all."  
  
"It is a matter of honor." Soun nodded, gathering  
stoic dignity around him like a blanket. "As far as I am  
concerned, that is the end of it. For the sake of my deceased  
friend, your father, this must be done."  
  
"Maybe," said Kasumi as if just considering the  
idea. "He should get to know us just to see which would be  
the better match."  
  
"What a wonderful idea, Kasumi!" Nabiki nodded  
enthusiastically, as well she might as it was her idea anyway.  
Nabiki could usually count on Kasumi to remember her lines.  
  
Ranma exchanged a glance with Skuld. So far it  
was pretty much as she'd predicted.  
  
"So, Skuld is it? I know Ranma spent most of his  
life being trained in the martial arts, but what about you? How  
did you get involved in all this?"  
  
"I was exiled from my homeland temporarily for the  
crime of data hacking." Skuld sipped at her tea and noted the  
blank looks from all but one. She smiled as Nabiki obviously  
started working out angles on how to exploit this. "Because  
I was doing a favor for Ranma here, digging up some information  
he needed. I've just been tagging along until either my sister  
starts going to college here in Japan or until my sentence is  
over."  
  
"So you're an information specialist," Nabiki said  
thoughtfully.  
  
"Actually, I'm mainly a debugger. System maintenance  
is my usual occupation." Skuld shrugged.  
  
"Ah, whatever." Soun managed after a moment. He  
had less idea of what this young girl was talking about than Akane,  
who was less computer literate than Kasumi (who'd only seen  
computers in stores and the like but had read a book.) It wasn't  
like they had computers available in Furinkan High School.  
  
"So where did you say you were from?"  
  
"Norn's Grove, a little place South of Valhalla."  
  
"Ah," Soun exclaimed. She was German. Spoke  
Japanese very well for a gaijin. No doubt Ranma had been  
the tutor.  
  
"Valhalla?" Kasumi frowned a little. Skuld? Norn's  
Grove? Ah, she was Norwegian! No doubt she'd have some  
serious trouble with the Japanese summers. "Well we have two  
guest rooms, and we can put you up while Ranma decides  
to marry me."  
  
Everyone stared. Kasumi blushed when she realized  
what she had said. "...or Nabiki," she appended a moment later.  
  
"For tonight," Ranma inclined his head in a sitting  
bow, "that would be quite welcome. Tomorrow, though, me and  
Skuld'll be checking out a small apartment near here until we  
resolve a few things."  
  
"It's no trouble," Kasumi put in, not quite willing to  
let the matter drop as her eyes swept over Ranma's form.  
  
"I'm afraid it's necessary," Skuld said with a shrug.  
"There's gonna be some trouble looking for Ranma here, and  
there's gonna be more trouble if he's staying here when it comes."  
Plus, she'd discussed this with Ranma and too many of the other  
fiancées would construe this as favoring the Tendo engagement.  
  
"Oh, there's this." Ranma held up an arm fitted with  
a bracelet made of jade and silver. "I'm under a curse which this  
keeps in control."  
  
"Yeah, right." Akane scoffed openly, still irritated  
at this *boy* calling *Kuno* her fiancée.  
  
Ranma removed the bracelet, setting it on the table  
with a raised eyebrow. "Skuld?"  
  
Skuld pulled a canteen out of her backpack and  
splashed Ranma with it, putting the canteen back while the  
Tendos were gaping at Ranma.  
  
Ranma quickly explained that his father had chosen  
this wonderful training site, which was where his father had  
saved his life from a stray attack from another fight going on  
at the same location. He never mentioned exactly WHAT was  
fighting there. Hot water changed him back to male, cold water  
to female, unless he was wearing the Stability Bracelet.  
  
"It was originally created for people with curses like  
werewolves and the like. If I'm a girl when I wear it, I'll be a girl  
until I take it off and get some hot water. It's made dealing with  
the curse a lot easier in some ways."  
  
"Uhm," Nabiki said, starting to have second thoughts  
about the whole thing.  
  
"Now, now, let's worry about this later, shall we?"  
Skuld put in quickly. "Worry about it later, eh?"  
---------------------------------------------------  
"School, huh?" Ranma wasn't impressed.  
  
"Yeah, Ranma. All your records show your chronological  
and not your biological age. I could fix those but your mother and all  
would definitely view this as being strange. Best to leave as is for now."  
Skuld shrugged. "I had to mess enough with my own records."  
  
"What records?"  
  
"Exactly." Skuld nodded. "Now, thanks to Urd's little  
potion and my laptop computer, I look like and am registered as  
a fourteen year old exchange student from Norway who registered  
high enough on the placement tests that I can attend Furinkan."  
  
"Uhm, Skuld? Other than you look closer to fifteen, you  
haven't changed.."  
  
"Oh bugger." Skuld frowned. "Well, whatever.  
Anyway, you're attending the same class as me and Akane. Nabiki  
is in the same class as that Kuno guy."  
  
"Okay. Did you give me a good grade point average?"  
  
"You're gonna have to do that yourself, don't know how  
much of that Dad'll put up with before he starts with the lightning  
bolts."  
  
"Do I haveta wear a school uniform?"  
  
"You might be able to get away with some clothes. I doubt  
your working clothes..."  
  
Nabiki opened the door. "C'mon, you two, breakfast!"  
  
"'Kay." Skuld finished typing on her laptop and closed it  
up. "Now try to get through the day without fighting anyone, Ranma."  
  
"Oh yeah, THAT's gonna happen."  
  
"Y'never know." Skuld shrugged.  
  
Kasumi looked up from setting out the breakfast dishes.  
"My, Ranma-kun, what was that you were doing this morning?"  
  
Ranma blinked. "Do you mean the spear katas, the unarmed  
stuff, or the meditation?"  
  
"That bit where you were glowing and floating in midair."  
  
Kasumi's comment stopped her sisters in mid-motion and  
even caused Soun to stop reading his paper for a moment.  
  
"Oh, THAT. Just a meditation technique, building up  
your chi, directing the flows, that sorta thing."  
  
"Oh," Kasumi nodded, satisfied.  
  
"Floating?" Nabiki repeated.  
  
"Yeah, advanced chi techniques, y'know," Ranma shrugged.  
  
Akane blinked. It was almost unthinkable, after all, she was  
the best there was in the Furinkan area. But if Ranma were THAT good,  
he might have some stuff that she could learn. She grinned inwardly. Oh,  
yes, and she would be able to check out Nabiki's fiancée a little more  
thoroughly and determine if he was suitable for her dear (lonely though  
thoroughly mercenary) sister.  
  
Breakfast went smoothly, and soon after the Tendo sisters, Ranma, and Skuld  
headed out the door and were on the way to school.  
  
END  
  



	4. Chapter 4: School

Ranma: The Apprentice  
A Ranma ½ crossover  
By Tomas (Nighthawk) Megerson  
  
None of the characters in this fic are owned by   
me. Ranma characters belong to Rumiko Takakashi.   
Ah! My Goddess characters belong to Fujishima   
Kosuke. All other characters to appear in this   
are owned by their respective people. Please   
don't sue me, I'm not rich.  
  
E-mail me any C&C at NighthawkTM@yahoo.com.   
Flames will be ignored.  
  
Visit me at:   
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/6189  
  
Chapter 4  
School  
  
  
Ranma and Skuld walked out the door with   
the two Tendo sisters who were still in school.   
Ranma, looking around as he reached the gate,   
decided to get to know the two girls better.   
"So, what are the two of you into? What do you   
do in your spare time?"  
  
"I'm a martial artist."  
  
Ranma looked at her and started to read   
her power level. It didn't take him too long   
considering how small it was. "I see that your   
Sensei was very lax in your studies."  
  
Akane got a rather annoyed look on her   
face. Here she was the best martial artist in   
Nerima and he had the gall to tell her that her   
Sensei was lax in her training? How dare that   
BOY tell her such a thing. Well she'd show him   
a thing or two. She'd teach him what a REAL   
martial artist could do right after school.  
  
Ranma glanced over at Nabiki and raised   
an eyebrow. She gave him a small smile. "Well,   
I..."  
  
"She's a mercenary."  
  
Ranma looked at Akane who seemed slightly   
flushed at her sudden outburst. "Why would you   
call your sister a mercenary."  
  
"Because she sells pictures of me to   
perverts, she blackmails everyone, and pretty   
much runs the school's underground. She's a   
mercenary who doesn't care for anyone."  
  
Nabiki looked rather annoyed at that.   
"Don't you have something to take care of,   
little sister?"  
  
Akane's head came up as they approached   
the school. "That's right! I HATE BOYS!!!!!"   
And with that Akane rushed toward the school   
gate.  
  
Ranma and Skuld just stopped and stared   
at her. Neither had any idea exactly what was   
going on. Ranma ran a few steps to catch up to   
Nabiki who had kept on walking as though nothing   
was wrong. "What's that all about, Nabiki?"  
  
Nabiki pointed to wear Akane was beating   
up a rather large group of boys who were all   
screaming something about wanting to date her   
and not letting anyone else beat her. Ranma   
raised an eyebrow before he shrugged. He had   
seen a lot stranger ways for people to try to   
get dates while he was in Heaven. Skuld also   
took it in stride. She had seen plenty of gods   
fight each other to try and get a date with her   
older sister Urd. She just decided that this   
was an adaptation of that.  
  
The two followed Nabiki around the   
carnage as Akane kept on fighting. One body   
flew in their direction which Ranma calmly used   
one hand to redirect the poor boy into a tree   
ten or so feet away. Nabiki took note of how   
Ranma didn't even notice that he had thrown the   
guy as though it was simple reflexes. The   
three were almost in the building when Ranma   
heard a familiar voice that caused him to stop.  
  
"Truly, such a boorish lot. Evidently   
each of them intends to ask you out, Akane, on   
the dawn that he finally defeats you."  
  
Akane sighed, as though she had heard the   
speech many times before. "Oh. Kuno-sempai.   
Good morning."  
  
Kuno tossed her the red rose that he had   
been holding in his hand to Akane and took up a   
traditional Kendo stance. "And now, Akane Tendo,   
might you fight with me?"  
  
Akane caught the rose and nodded. She   
then charged the bokan wielding idiot.   
"HYAAAA!!!" Kuno swung his bokan, which Akane   
dodged and countered with a powerful uppercut.   
Kuno dropped like a log.  
  
Skuld tugged on Ranma's arm. "Come on,   
the shows done with. We've got to get to class."  
  
Ranma shook his head. "No, something was   
wrong with that Kuno character. I'm gonna drag   
him to the nurse so I can talk to him. You get   
on to class. I'll see ya there." Ranma watched   
Skuld nod and then turned to retrieve the still   
down Kendoist. Kuno was slowly struggling to   
stand up. "Ah, good morning Kuno-sempai."  
  
  
Kuno looked up to see Ranma helping him   
to his feet. Kuno was considering attacking him   
for placing his hands upon his persons when he   
decided against it. After all, this Saotome had   
deferred all claim to the beauteous Akane Tendo   
to him the night before. And now he was being   
polite and helping him as any good man should his   
better. "Good morning to you. Was there   
something you required of my person?"  
  
Ranma looked at him as the two headed   
into the building. "I was just wondering why   
you were holding back in your fight against   
Akane Tendo. You are clearly far more skilled   
then she is, but you allowed her to win."  
  
"Ah, the fierce tigress Akane. If I was   
to use all of my fearsome skill upon her she   
would be overwhelmed and possibly injured. How   
could I, the great Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue   
Thunder of Furikan High, bring myself to injure   
her." Kuno let out a long depressed sigh.  
  
Ranma raised an eyebrow at him. "But   
aren't you hurting her like this?"  
  
Kuno looked up sharply at Ranma. Could   
Saotome being trying to use the black arts on   
him? How could he, the Great Tatewaki Kuno, ever   
hurt the beautiful flower Akane Tendo.  
  
"I mean, aren't you teaching her to   
underestimate her opponents by taking it easy on   
her." Kuno's eyes filled with actual interest.   
He had never thought of that. "What will happen   
when someone who doesn't have as much honor as   
you comes along and challenges her? That person   
wont hold back and then she'll be forced into an   
unwanted date. Would it not be better to cause   
her a little physical pain now then to let her   
suffer emotional pain later?"  
  
As Ranma went through his reasoning Kuno   
was nodding and running the words through his   
mind. While it was slow to work it was analyzing   
the information that Ranma had fed to it. "Yes,   
yes, I see what you mean. I shall have to think   
on this most carefully. I thank you for pointing   
this out to me Saotome." At that point the bell   
rang.  
  
Ranma groaned. "Oh man, I'm late to   
class. I'll see you later Kuno-sempai. We'll   
have to talk about having that sparring match,   
as well. Have a good day."  
  
"To you as well, Saotome, to you as   
well." Kuno then stepped into the nurse's   
office to see about getting something for that   
splitting headache he had. He had much to think   
about, and the pounding in his head was quite   
distracting.  
  
***  
  
Ranma stepped through the door right   
behind the teacher. He was a middle-aged man   
just beginning to go bald. Ranma quietly walked   
up and stood next to Skuld in the front of the   
class. The two quietly waited as the teacher   
went through there transfer papers. "Why don't   
you introduce yourselves to the class while I get   
these paper's in order."  
  
"I'm Skuld. Pleased to meet you." Skuld   
gave the class a small bow.  
  
"Ranma Saotome. Also pleased to meet   
you." He too gave the class a small bow. The   
girls in the class (minus Akane) started to   
whisper about this new tall hansom boy who had   
entered their lives. Ranma kept a small smile   
in place while making silent vows to stay far   
away from any girl. He had more than enough   
fiancées thanks to his father, he didn't need   
hoards of girls after him as well. From out of   
a clear blue-sky thunder crashed. Everyone   
looked out the window before shrugging it off.   
Everyone except for Ranma and Skuld who   
exchanged a look saying that there was going to   
be a lot of trouble. Ranma was completely sure   
that the trouble would be for him. For some   
reason it always was.  
  
"Well, it says here that the two of you   
were in China until recently. Mister Saotome,   
that is still no excuse for being late. Go stand   
in the hall."  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes before doing as he   
was told. He didn't feel like arguing with the   
teacher. He really didn't want to get on   
anyone's bad side this early into making his life   
turn out right.  
  
In the hall Ranma struggled to recall   
just what was supposed to happen on this first   
day of school. So far he felt that he had   
corrected a number of the problems. He didn't   
get involved in Akane's fight, which caused one   
of the earliest fights with her from what he   
recalled. He didn't get Kuno upset with him, in   
fact the Kendoist seemed to like him. Ranma had   
to admit that Kuno wasn't really all that bad.   
He was a bit flowery, but then so where any   
number of the deities that he had dealt with on   
Asgard, so he wasn't too picky about speech   
patterns.  
  
Ranma leaned back against the wall and   
closed his eyes as he held his two buckets of   
water. If he was going to be stuck in the hall,   
he might as well make good use of the time.   
Ranma began to use one of his meditation   
techniques that were to calm the spirit and   
allow peace to flow through him. A dim, whit   
aura formed around him as he radiated a sense of   
peace. With this technique he could be thrown   
into a pit of starving lions and they wouldn't   
do a thing to him. Accept of course, that in a   
pit of starving lions the Neko-ken would activate   
and he'd be a lot more dangerous than the lions   
would.  
  
That had been the main reason that he had   
worked hard to learn such a technique. He   
recalled the Neko-ken training and vowed to find   
a way to protect himself from the fear. So far   
he had failed, but he wasn't about to quit. He   
sensed a presence approach the door to his class   
room and dropped out of the meditation. The   
teacher opened the door and motioned him to come   
in. Ranma look around the room and took the only   
empty desk that was available. Sitting down, he   
worked hard to pay attention to the class. After   
a few minutes, he realized that his math skills   
were far beyond what the teacher was trying to   
teach the class. The lessons given by Tahuti.   
Ranma had learned the sciences from him, and   
math was a large part of science. Still, Ranma   
stayed awake and paid attention to the class, if   
only because the other him probably would have   
gone to sleep.   
  
***  
  
Lunch time came and went to the school.   
Finally after long grueling hours of studying the   
end of the school day came. Ranma smiled as he   
and Skuld left the building. "What a great day   
Skuld. For once I didn't get into any fights.   
I can't remember the last time I had a day this   
good."  
  
"It was probably while we were still in   
Asgard. You tend to attract trouble like a   
magnet. You realize that something will happen   
to make up for it, right?"  
  
"Ah, don't worry about it. Lets just   
get our stuff from the Tendo's and move into   
that apartment. I want to be out of there before   
anything bad happens."  
  
"Like some of your father's problems   
showing up?" Skuld gave Ranma a mischievous   
smile.  
  
"Yup, exactly like that. I don't want   
any of those other fiancées to show up and us be   
living at the Tendo's place. That'll just make   
everything a whole lot worse." The two arrived   
at the Tendo's just as it started to rain. Ranma   
sighed at the injustice of it all. While his   
bracelet may control the curse, it did nothing   
for the water magnet that was a part of it.  
  
***  
  
Ukyo Kounji stared at the letter in her   
hand. After 10 years she had heard from HIM   
again. And now she didn't know what to think.   
He knew nothing about the engagement. His old   
man had never told him that they engaged him.   
He hadn't even known she was a girl for crying   
out loud. And he called her Ucchan. He still   
wanted to be her friend.  
  
Ukyo didn't know what to think about it   
at all. All she knew was that he was in Nerima   
and he was expecting her to come. And he wanted   
to find some way to forgive her. She knew that   
she had to see him. Ukyo got up and headed to   
speak to her father. He would know what to do.  
  
***  
  
Mister Daikokuji stared at the letter in   
his hand. He had never expected something like   
this to happen. Ranma Saotome was actually   
contacting him about the engagement that his   
father had made. He didn't care much for the   
mention of other fiancées. It appeared that   
Genma was as honorless as he thought when he ran   
off all those years ago.  
  
But his son was apparently a different   
person entirely. That hw had actually contacted   
them about it said much for the young man.   
Mister Daikokuji knew what he had to do. Someone   
like this only came one in a million, and he was   
sure that his daughter would be perfect for the   
young man. "Kaori! Come here! We're going on   
a trip!"  
  
  
***  
  
Makoto Kino sat in shock. She never   
would have believed it if her uncle hadn't   
confirmed it when she asked. She was engaged.   
She had no idea as to why her parents would do   
such a thing to her, but they did. And perhaps   
it was fate. She could just imagine a hansom   
face to rival that of her own Sempai. Perhaps it   
was the fact that she was so unlucky at getting   
a guy that made her believe it was fate.  
  
After all, what guy wouldn't like a   
beautiful young woman such as herself. She could   
cook, kept a clean home, and was a lot of fun.   
All she had to do was find the right guy to   
appreciate it all. Perhaps this Ranma Saotome   
was the one. She would just have to take a trip   
to Nerima and meet him.  
  
***  
  
Cologne sighed as she and her great   
granddaughter left the amazon tribe. The sigh   
was for the fact that they weren't alone. There   
was no way that she could send Shampoo alone   
without a good reason. And saying that she   
thought she heard a girl who might be an oracle   
say that the tribe would be in danger unless   
this did happen would not be a good enough   
reason. So here she was leading an Amazon   
Husband Gathering expedition to Japan. There   
were supposed to be many great fighters in   
Japan. Cologne only hoped that she could find   
the one who was with the oracle. If that girl   
had been right, he was the Joketsuzoku's only   
hope.  
  
***  
  
Author's Notes: Well, done at last. God, its   
been somewhere around four or five months since   
I last updated this. I hope that you enjoyed   
it. As for what will happen next time, well,   
Ranma's luck runs out. All the fiancées will   
show up at once, as will the Amazon expedition.   
And lets not forget the eternal lost boy. He   
will arrive as well. A lot for next time, huh.   
I only hope it won't take me another 4 months to   
get it out. ^_^.  
  



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